I Got on an Elevator and 26 Scholars Got Laptops From Cisco and Human I-T

A Year 10 Dream, Manifested in Year 3, From a Seed Planted in Year 2

Hey Mafia Miracle Makers!!!

I need to tell you how this miracle actually unfolded, because it wasn’t just one big moment. It was a string of small, Spirit-led moments that lined up just right.

It started with me showing up to an HBCU event, being myself, cracking jokes, and following a nudge I couldn’t explain at the time.

BUT FIRST…IF YOU’RE NEW HERE
Move-In Day Mafia is a nonprofit rooted in H.U.G.S.
Hope. Understanding. Generosity. Stability.

We move HBCU students who have aged out of foster care, are unhoused, or fighting serious financial challenges into their dorms and surround them with family for four years through monthly care packages, resources, and community.

This report is called the Mafia Miracle Report because what happens around these scholars is never coincidence.

And THIS story absolutely earns the name.


​IT STARTED WITH ME BEING…WELL…ME
Last year, I attended a stop on The Different World original cast tour at Clark Atlanta University.

For context, A Different World was a legendary 90s TV show that centered HBCU life and culture. The cast had been touring HBCUs, pouring back into the culture, and Cisco Systems was one of the tour sponsors.

I got on the elevator with a group of people, including Mina, my Move-In Day Mafia right-hand, and for reasons I still can’t explain, I started joking and teasing one particular woman on the elevator.

Just being silly.
Everybody laughing.
The woman was dishing it back.
No clue who she was.

We get off the elevator, go our separate ways, and I fully expect that to be the end of it.

Inside the venue, I chose a seat on the third row. Then, about five minutes later, I felt that familiar internal nudge from the Holy Spirit to move.

I changed seats and landed in the front row next to a woman who turned out to be a Howard grad. Turns out, her daughter was the moderator for the panel.

After the program ended, the crowd moved quickly. I didn’t get a chance to properly say goodbye to my seatmate because we were pulled in different directions.

Mina and I ended up in the lobby because I was hoping to catch Dawnn Lewis, one of the actresses from A Different World, to thank her in person.

She had previously given Move-In Day Mafia this beautiful testimony through a mutual friend, and I simply wanted to say thank you.

So we waited.

While we were sitting there, I noticed my seatmate from earlier, the Howard grad, walking by with her daughter, the moderator. I hadn’t gotten the chance to properly say goodbye before, so I jumped up to catch them.

Proud mom introduced me to her baby and it clicked.

Her daughter was a news anchor.

And in that split second, I remembered who she was married to.

Someone who had helped me in a meaningful way in the past.

I wanted to grab a quick picture to send him later and say, “Guess who I ran into tonight?”

But that’s when I realized something else.

I had left my phone behind.

With Mina.

Which is wild, because my phone is usually glued to my hand.

That detail felt small in the moment.

It wasn’t.


​AND THEN…ANOTHER NUDGE
I chalked up my left-behind phone to merely a missed opportunity.

I didn’t get the selfie.

I didn’t get to send the picture.

And I figured that was just one of those moments that wasn’t meant to happen.

So Mina and I gathered our things, ready to head out.

And that’s when the timing doubled back on itself.

As we were leaving, I noticed the moderator was still standing nearby, talking with someone else. I had no intention of interrupting. I was ready to leave anyway.

But there it was again.

That familiar prompting of the Holy Spirit.

"Stay. Go get the picture."

So I did.

And guess what I heard?

The gentleman she was talking to explaining that he was the person who oversees HBCU relationships for Wells Fargo.

Now you already know...my ears stood straight up.

When their conversation wrapped, I politely asked the moderator if we could grab a quick photo. She graciously said yes and I made a note to myself to text her hubby.

Time to go!

As I turned to walk back toward Mina, I noticed the Wells Fargo rep was still near. Not rushing off. Just kind of lingering.

And again, I felt it.

I followed the nudge, introduced myself, and told him about Move-In Day Mafia.

He perked up, brought his team over, and before we knew it, he invited Mina and me to attend the Morehouse stop, which would start in an hour and was walking distance from the Clark Atlanta campus.

And little did I know, that short walk was quietly carrying me right back to the woman from the elevator that morning.


​LATE-NIGHT PITCH TURNED PARTNERSHIP
At the beginning of the Morehouse panel, one of the sponsors was acknowledged.

Cisco Systems...You know...the company that most of us know for providing all of our conference room speaker systems.

A Cisco rep, Scott McGregor, took the stage to kick off the program and then we listened to the Morehouse students ask the Different World cast some great questions. After the session wrapped, people started drifting off into conversations and goodbyes.

I set off to find my new Wells Fargo bestie to thank him. While I was waiting to tell him goodbye, I saw Scott from Cisco standing near him alone.

That’s when I felt it again.

That same Holy Spirit nudge.

Confused, I had no clue why I would need to introduce myself to anyone at Cisco but I did and shared all about Mafia with Scott.

He listened and seemed to be genuinely intrigued.

Then, waving her over, he said, “I want you to meet my colleague. She’s on the team that awards our grants.”

And when she turned around…

I burst out laughing. She did too.

It was the same woman from that morning in the elevator.

The one I had been joking with.
The one I didn’t know.
The one who had no idea who I was or what I did and vice versa.

I officially met Mrs. Shaunya Ishmael.

When she realized who I was, we both just cracked up again. One of those full-circle, wait-a-minute moments that makes you stop and smile.

Once the laughter settled, Scott looked at me and said, “Tell her what you do.”

So I did.

I told her about Move-In Day Mafia.

About the students.
About move-in season.
About surrounding scholars with family when they don’t have one.

And Shaunya lit up.

Not politely.
Not professionally.

For real.

She told me they had a grant coming up and asked if I’d send her information.

I looked at her and said, trying to sound casual even though my heart was racing, “Is tonight too late?”

She laughed and said no.

And I meant it.

Because by the time she opened her email the next morning, Move-In Day Mafia was already sitting in her inbox.

That email turned into a meeting.
That meeting turned into a pitch.
That pitch turned into a $15,000 grant.

But more importantly, it turned into a ride-or-die advocate in Shaunya Ishmael and a real partnership with Cisco.

Cisco showed up for Move-In Day Mafia in 2024.
They showed up again in 2025.
But this time…they took it even further.

​
​THE MIRACLE, LOUD AND CLEAR
Last move-in season, Cisco brought Human-I-T into the Mafia family.

Human-I-T is a nonprofit organization on a mission to close the digital divide by getting technology into the hands of people who need it most, students, families, and communities who are too often locked out of opportunity simply because they lack access.

Together, they put laptops in the hands of ALL 26 of our new Move-In Day Mafia scholars!!!

Every single student we moved in for the 2025 academic year.

No waitlists.
No “we’ll share.”
No “figure it out.”

THEIRS.

Now pause with me for a second, because this is where some folks might miss the weight of this.

A laptop is not a “nice to have” for these students.

It’s not extra.
It’s not a perk.

It’s the difference between:
• keeping up and falling behind
• applying for internships or missing deadlines
• attending virtual office hours or staying silent
• building a future or constantly playing catch-up

For some of our scholars, this was the first laptop they had ever owned.

Not borrowed.
Not issued for the semester.
Not shared with three roommates.

Owned.

And when those laptops hit their hands?

You could feel it.

Relief.
Pride.
Confidence.
Possibility.

This is what happens when companies don’t just say they care but fund, build, and show up to deliver.

Cisco sent volunteers who came ready to work. Not “corporate pop-in” energy. Real sleeves-rolled-up, let’s-get-it-done energy. They showed up present, engaged, and invested in our scholars in a way that did not go unnoticed.

​And alongside them, Human-I-T’s Richard McCall and Jared Rezak were right there in the mix.

Richard and Jared stayed with us late into the night during Move-In Season 2025 at Clark Atlanta, Spelman, and Morehouse. We’re talking 2 and 3 a.m. late.

Lifting. Moving. Troubleshooting. Refusing to leave until the work was done.

So yes, this started as a dream I thought would take ten years.

And yes, it manifested in year three.

But because Cisco and Human-I-T said yes when it mattered…

Twenty-six scholars are logging into class differently this year.

Prepared.
Equipped.
Seen.

That’s the miracle and Mafia is so much better because of persistent partners like them!

And get this.

As I was putting the finishing touches on this edition, I got another call from Cisco, telling me that they had put our name in the room for ANOTHER opportunity for our scholars. Yeah, that's partnership and our scholars are thriving as a result!

​

I’ll let their words speak for themselves.

Sometimes we think miracles require massive effort.

But this whole story was built on split seconds.

A seat change.
A pause.
A nudge.
An introduction.

None of it felt big in the moment.

Until it was.

So if something small keeps tapping you this week, don’t dismiss it.
Move on it.
Your yes might be the seed for someone else’s breakthrough.

Thank you, Cisco.

Thank you, Human I-T.

Thank you to every advocate who carries our scholars’ names into rooms they haven’t entered yet.

And thank you, Mafia Miracle Maker, for believing with us. Until next week...

Hug yourself for me!

As always, we need your support of the mission at MoveInDayMafia.org/Donate